“From humble beginnings, come great things.”

Most of us come from modest backgrounds and often our parents, grandparents and down the lineage, had to work hard to achieve a measure of success in life. The wisest among us build on their success and take it to the next level. In this spirit of quality of continuity, Jay Fishman has taken the fabric of his grandfather's embroidery business and woven it into the best digitizing business in the industry.

Although the origin of embroidery dates back as far as 30,000 B.C., Jay hasn't been in it quite that long, but he did grow up in the industry most of his life. Jay didn't start working in the embroidery industry until he was a teenager. At that time there was still some garment industry left in this country, he worked on French Ornamental sewing machines that allowed for the addition of sequins, soutache, cording, braiding and what was called 3-thread machining. His first venture into digitizing was for Schiffli machines that produced yard goods of laces and trims, and also could be used for patches. The digitizing was literally 1 stitch at a time and way before the time of computers.

As the industry changed with the times, he became more interested in where the art of embroidery met the business of the industry. This interest began the journey that separated him from the rest of the digitizing industry.

Beyond his beginning in the basics, he has ventured into extensive areas of embroidery and digitizing. He lists his skills and abilities as being many, some of which are as follows:

Jay has trained individuals and groups on ornamental techniques using manual specialized machines – also in sales and some repair work;

He is an Embroidery Historian – he has lectured on the history and symbolism of embroidery, as well as embroidery as an art form at local college art and fashion programs;

He has been featured in a Cover story in STITCHES magazine for use of computerized and manual techniques on fleece;

Jay has worked with artists translating paintings and print media for use as wearable art;

He has liaised with interior designers on large projects that use both manual and computerized techniques for various fabric coverings;

He acted as trainer and consultant on embroidery and digitizing software and techniques;

He worked with embroidery artists and book publishers in producing project books with up to 100 designs per book. Wicked Stitch has currently worked on six books, that are sold in both stores and websites such as Amazon.com;

Jay has written both as a guest writer and a regular columnist for several industry Embroidery Trade Journals; and

He is the preferred vendor for overflow and complex embroidered digitizing from specialty clothing manufacturers and industry specific specialty embroiders, i.e. golf, tennis.

"I am very pleased with the quick turn around service of Wicked Stitch. I can tell that they have a good knowledge of embroidery in general, and that's what I look for in a good digitizer. Their personalized service was also a big plus." - D. Rhoades, PA